Dredging apparatus.



PATENTBD Nov. 29, 1904.

0. FRHLING.

DREDGNG APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION FILED 0012.7, laan.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

No. 776,049. PATBNTED NOV. 29, 1904. O.. FRHLING.

DREDGING APPARATUS.

4APPLIQATIQN FILED 00T. '1, 189s. No MODEL. a zangers-SHEET a,

@epa/m PATENTED NOV. 29, 1904.

0. PRHLING. DRBDGING APPARATUS.

APPLIUATION IILED 00T. 7| 1398.'

3 BHEBTB-SHEBT 3.

N0 MODEL.

wi f 1 eases Patented November 29, 1901i.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTTO FRHLING, OF BRUNSWICK, GERMANY.

DREDGING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 776,049, dated November29, 1904.

serial No. 692,900. (No mdem To all wwnt t may concer-rt:

Be it known that 1', O'rro FRHLING, a subject of the Duke of Brunswick,residing' at Brunswick, Germany, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Dredging Apparatus, of which the following is aspeciiication.

The present invention relates to improvements in dredging' apparatus ofthe class known as suction-dredges or those in which the transportationof the material to the surface oiI the water in which the apparatus isoperated is etfected by the suction produced by a current or stream ofHuid through suitable conduits. With apparatus of this character ascommonly constructed a strong current is created outside of thedredging-head or drag adjacent the mouth or inlet for excavated materialor material to be dredged, which current acts to loosen a portion of theground and draw into the drag through said mouth such or anyother loosematerial exposed to its action, as well as to discharge such materialfrom the drag. It is impossible, however, to so control the action ot'such current that the surface over which the dredging-head or drag' ismoved will be uniformly leveled.

VOn the contrary, the action ot' such dredges is to produce a successionojf holes or depressions extending to varying depths from the desiredplane or level. according to the nature of the soil at the particularlocality. Another and still more important objection to the forms ofsuction-dredges heretofore employed is that the amount of water drawninto the drag by the current produced outside of its mouth is not underthe control of the operators and generally forms an undesirably-largeproportion of the mixture delivered to the pump. It is of coursedesirable that the amount of water admitted to the dredginghead or dragshall not exceed that required to disintegrate or reduce the solidmaterial therein to a consistency which can be properly handled by thepumping means, and this cannot be accomplished with dredging apparatusin which the suction apparatus acts to produce a current outside of thedrag or dredginghead by which both water and loose solid matrated inFig. 1. the drag illustrated in Fig. 2.

` terial are simultaneously drawn into the drag p suction-current isproduced on the outside ot' the head adjacent the inlet or mouth thereofand by which the amount ot' water admitted to the head may be entirelyunder the control of the operator, whereby the desired proportions ofwater and solid material in the mixture acted on by the suction devicescan be maintained.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View onthe line 1 1 of Fig. 5 through a dredging-head or drag' constructed inaccordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view on theline 2 2 ot' Fig. 6, illustrating a slightly-modified form of theinvention. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through thedredging-head or drag' illus- Fig. el is a similar view of Fig. 5 is aplan View of the drag shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 6 is a lirontelevationof the form shown in Figs. 2 and 4.-.

The improved dredger-head is chieiy composed of two parts A and B, ofwhich the part A is the tool for digging ofi' the soil, and the part Bis the mixing-chamber, within which the separated soil is disintegratedand mixed with specially-admitted water. The `part A is composed of ascoop or blade having' a sharp edge (Z, which extends downwardly andforwardly from the casing B, projecting for a considerable distance infront ol the dredgerhead and forming thc lower side or wall ofthe inletor mouth of the head. This scoop serves to sever the soil in advancethereol,E from the surface along' which the head is dragged or pushed.Above the blade and in front of the inlet opening or mouth of the heador drag a number o1 vertical knives a: may be arranged, by means ofwhich the soil is subjected to a preliminary disintegration as it isforced through such mouth in the manner hereinafter described and whichprevent large-sized logs or stones from clogging the said mouth.

Above the entrance opening or mouth of the head and back of the frontedge of blade A is arranged a steeply-ascending plate a, against whichwhen the head is moved forward the soil is thrown and piled or packedup.

The parts A a constitute or form a pocket having the mouth of the heador drag at its inner end and gradually increasing in size from saidmouth to the free edge of the cutting-blade. The material removed by thedigging' or cuttingmeans is initially received into this pocket, theform of which is such that als the head is moved forward said materialis caused to close the mouth of the head so as to absolutely prevent theWater surrounding the head or ground water from entering the chamber B.'By the forward movement of the head a fresh quantity of soil iscontinually taken up by the cutting or digging devices and entering thepocket in advance of the mouth of the head or drag operates to displacethe preceding quantities and force them from the pocket through themouth of the drag into the chamber B.

The part B, it will be seen, constitutes a chamber closed on all sidesand shut off from the surrounding water, and means are provided foradmitting a suitable quantity of water thereto to reduce the solidmaterial forced from the aforesaid pocket to the desired extent. Thewater for this purpose may be admitted through ducts or pipes D and theresulting paste like mixture withdrawn through the suction-pipes E,which are connected with suitable pumping mechanism (not shown) commonlyemployed in apparatus of this character. The pipes D preferably extendupwardly from the dredging-head to near the surface of the body of waterin which the apparatus is working and at their upper ends are providedwith suitable valves by which the admission of water thereto can beregulated.

To assist in disintegrating or reducing the solid matter introduced intothe chamber B, as aforesaid, suitable blades g, as shown in F ig. 3, oragitating-arms, as shown in Fig. 4, may be mounted on a suitable shaftL, journaled in bearings in the dredger-head. Said shaft is adapted tobe rotated by gearing m, connected with suitable power mechanism (notshown) or may be rotated by any suitable means. If desired, thedisintegration of the solid material may be assisted or in some casessolely effected by water under pressure supplied through conduits C,connected' with a suitable source of supply and with achamber formed atthe rear end of the dredging-head and communicating with the chamber Bthrough a plurality of suitable openings or passages from which thewater will be discharged into said chamber in a series of jets e, asindicated in Figs. l and 3. It will be understood that in themodification of the invention in which the pipes D are employed thewater is drawn through such pipes and into the mixing-chamber B by theaction of the pumping devices, by which the contents of said chamber aredrawn out through the tubes E. By combining with such tubes Dpressure-pipes, such as those marked C, the circulation of water can beincreased. The action of water admitted through the pipes D may also beassisted by arranging' a spiral conveyer g within the chamber B adjacentthe inner end of the discharge-pipe E. By means of suitable guideswithin the chamber B the water admitted through the pipes D may becaused to traverse said chamber on lines indicated by the arrows f inFig. 2.

The dredging-head 0r drag is supported by any suitable device andconnected with means whereby it can be moved over the surface to bedredged, such supporting and propelling means being conventionallyillustrated in the drawings. A

rlhe operation of the invention has been generally described in theforegoing description and the advantages incident thereto pointed out.It may be desirable, however, to briefly repeat them. As the dredginghead or drag is lowered to the surface on which it is to act the weightand relative arrangement of the cutting devices cause them to beembedded -in the soil which it is desired to remove. Then the head ordrag is moved forward, the soil separated by the action of Ithecutting-blade is packed into the pocket formed in the forward face ofsaid head, and the mouth of the latter is closed thereby, thuspreventing the entrance of ground-water into the chamber B and alsopreventing the production of any suction-currents outside of the head ordrag by the action of the pumping means. The pocket adjacent the mouthlof the drag is thus filled with closely-packed material which iscontinuously forced into the chamber B as the drag is moved forward vbythe pressure exerted by the newly-raised soil separated from the bottomby the cutting means. The material thus forced into the chamber B ispractically solid, the water commonly drawn into the dredging-head withthe material detached from the bottom or surface in which the dredge isat work being excluded, as above stated. A suflicient quantity of waterto reduce the solid material to a condition in which it can be handledby the suction-pumps is introduced into the chamber in either of theways described,and the resulting mixture is Withdrawn by the action ofthe suction means through the discharge-pipe E. It will thus be seenthat by this invention the objections incident to suction-dredges asheretofore constructed, which have been noted in the foregoingspecification, are entirely avoided.

lllhile the embodiment of the invention IOO IIS

illustrated in the accompanying' drawings and specifically describedherein includes two discharge-pipes E and a corresponding number ofpipes for supplying' water to the chamber B, it will be understood thatany desired number of such pipes, one or more, may bev employed,according to the size of the dredg'- ing head or drag.

Having thus described the invention and without intending to limit allof the claims to the details of the embodiment oi the inventionillustrated in the accompanying drawings, what is claimed is- 1. In adredging apparatus, the combination of a hollow head or drag providedwith cutting or digging means and an inlet or mouth through whichmaterial to be dredged enters the head, the walls of said head formingan exterior pocket in which the said material is initially received, theshape of such pocket causing the material therein to close the mouth or'the drag and prevent the passage of water therethrough as the drag isdrawn forward, means for disintegrating' the material .forced into theinterior of the drag from said pocket, through said mouth, as the dragis moved forward, and means for removing' such material from the drag.

2. In a dredging apparatus, the combination of a hollow head or dragprovided with cutting or digging means and an inlet or mouth throughwhich material loosened by the dig'- g'ing or cutting' means enters thehead, and means for creating' suction to draw material from within saidhead, said head being so formed as to prevent such suction drawingmaterial outside thereof into the head.

In a dredging' apparatus, the combination of a hollow head or dragprovided with cutting or digging' means and an inlet or mouth throughwhich material to be dredg'ed enters the head, means for creatingsuction to draw material from within said head, and means for causingthe material to be dredged to prevent such suction acting outside themouth of the head.

4. Ina dredging apparatus, the combination of a hollow head or dragprovided with an inlet or mouth in its forward face, cutting' meansextending forwardly and downwardly from said mouth, and a baille-platearranged above said mouth and in such relation thereto and to thecutting means as to cause material moved by the action of said cuttingmeans to prevent the passage of water through the inlet or mouth of thedrag'.

5. In a dredging apparatus, the combination of a hollow head or drag,means for causing material to be dredged to close the inlet throughwhich such material enters the drag and prevent the passage oi' waterthroug'lrsaid inlet, means for supplying' water to the interior of thedrag, and suction means for removing the mixture ot' water and materialfrom the drag'.

6. In a dredging apparatus, the combination of a hollow head or drag, adigging' device connected thereto, an entrance port or mouth for thesoil being' provided at the front wall of the drag', said wall steeplyascending from said mouth and serving' as a baffle-plate l'or the pilingup of the loosened soil, a discharge-pipe, means for admittingwate'r tothe drag, means for disintegrating the soil within the drag and mixingit with water supplied thereto, and means for admitting' water underpressure into the drag'.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

OTT@ FRUHLING. Witnesses:

R. FBHLING, EDMUND GRABENSTEIN.

